Tax Invoice Template Australia

Tax Invoice Template Australia (Free PDF)

A tax invoice is not just an invoice with GST added at the bottom. It is a specific document under Australian GST law, and your customer needs a valid one before they can claim back the GST they paid you. Get a detail wrong and a business client may send it back, hold the payment, or simply not be able to claim the credit.

This page is the template and the rulebook in one place. It covers the seven things every tax invoice must show, the extra detail you need once a sale reaches $1,000, when you can skip a tax invoice altogether, the 28 day rule, how to show GST on mixed sales, and how to fix a tax invoice after you have sent it.

The 7 Things Every Tax Invoice Must Show

The ATO sets out what a tax invoice needs for a sale of less than $1,000. Miss one and the document is not a valid tax invoice, even if everything else is perfect.

Everything else you would normally put on an invoice still belongs there: an invoice number, a due date, your payment details. The law does not list them, but your customer's accounts team will expect them.

Sales of $1,000 or More: Add Your Buyer

Once a sale reaches $1,000 including GST, the seven items above are not enough. The tax invoice must also show the buyer's identity or their ABN. In practice, put both the business name and the ABN of your client on the invoice. It costs nothing and removes any doubt.

The $1,000 is measured on the whole sale including GST. A $950 job plus $95 GST is a $1,045 sale, so the buyer's details are required.

When You Do Not Need a Tax Invoice ($82.50 and Under)

You do not have to give a tax invoice for a sale of $82.50 or less including GST. That is $75 plus GST. Shops, cafes and anyone selling small amounts can hand over an ordinary receipt.

Your customer can still claim the GST on a small purchase without a tax invoice, as long as they keep a record of it, such as a receipt or bank statement. If they ask you for a tax invoice anyway, give them one.

The 28 Day Rule

If a customer asks you for a tax invoice, you must give it to them within 28 days of the request. This catches out sole traders who send a quick payment request by text or a plain invoice, then get an email from the client's bookkeeper a month later. The request starts the clock. Keep a tax invoice ready for every sale above $82.50 and you will never be in that position.

Showing GST: A Separate Line or "Total Price Includes GST"

You have two ways to show GST. You can show the GST amount on its own line, or, when the GST is exactly one eleventh of the total price, you can write "Total price includes GST" instead. Most businesses show it as a line because their customers prefer to see the number.

To find the GST inside a price that already includes it, divide by 11. A $1,100 total holds $100 of GST. To add GST to a price that does not include it, multiply by 1.1.

Mixed Sales: Taxable and GST Free Items on One Invoice

Not every sale carries GST. Some things are GST free, such as most basic food, many health and education services, and exports. Others are input taxed, such as residential rent and many financial services. When one invoice holds both taxable and non taxable items, the tax invoice must make clear which is which.

The cleanest way is a GST column with 10% against taxable lines and 0% or "GST free" against the rest, then a GST total that only adds up the taxable lines. A common shortcut is an asterisk next to taxable items with a note at the bottom saying "Items marked * include GST". Either way, your customer must be able to work out the GST without guessing.

Who Can Issue a Tax Invoice

Only businesses registered for GST. You must register once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 a year ($150,000 for a non profit), and taxi and ride sourcing drivers must register whatever they earn. Below that, registration is optional.

If you are not registered, do not call your document a tax invoice and do not add GST. Call it an invoice, leave the GST line off, and keep your ABN on it. Our no GST invoice template is set up exactly that way, and the ABN invoice template explains why the ABN stays even when GST does not.

Fixing a Tax Invoice: Adjustment Notes

Mistakes and changes happen. A client returns goods, you give a discount after the fact, or you charged the wrong amount. You do not edit and resend the original. You issue an adjustment note, which works like a credit note for GST.

Under the ATO's ruling on adjustment notes, you must issue one within 28 days of whichever comes first: your customer asking for it, or you becoming aware of the adjustment, where you issued or were asked to issue a tax invoice for the sale. Your customer generally needs the adjustment note in hand before they can reduce their GST credit by more than $75. A credit note laid out with the original invoice number, the change and the GST effect does the job.

Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTI)

In some industries the buyer writes the tax invoice instead of the seller. Farmers selling to processors, subcontractors paid by a builder, and some scrap metal and commission arrangements work this way. This is a recipient created tax invoice.

An RCTI is only allowed under specific ATO rules and a written agreement between both sides. It must carry the words "recipient created tax invoice" prominently, and it must show the supplier's ABN. If a client tells you they will invoice themselves on your behalf, ask to see the agreement before you rely on their documents for your own GST.

Tax Invoice vs Invoice vs Receipt

If you want the long version for every country, read invoice vs receipt vs quote.

How to Make a Tax Invoice in 60 Seconds

Step 1. Open the invoice builder and choose Tax Invoice as the document type. The title changes to TAX INVOICE for you.

Step 2. Add your business name, address, email and ABN.

Step 3. Add your client. For a sale of $1,000 or more, include their business name and ABN.

Step 4. Add each item with a short description, quantity and price. Set tax to 10% for taxable items.

Step 5. Check the GST total, add your BSB and account number or PayID, and set the due date.

Step 6. Download the PDF and send it. Save a copy in a folder for that quarter.

Common Tax Invoice Mistakes

Calling it a tax invoice when you are not registered. If you are under the threshold and not registered, it is an invoice, with no GST line.

Leaving the buyer off a $1,000 sale. Fine on a $400 invoice, invalid on a $1,400 one.

Adding GST to GST free items. Charging 10% on something that is GST free means your client pays tax that should not exist, and you have to fix it with an adjustment note.

Editing a sent tax invoice. Issue an adjustment note instead, so both sets of books still agree.

Forgetting the ABN. A business client paying an invoice without an ABN may have to withhold 47% of the payment for the ATO. Our sole trader invoice template covers that trap in detail.

Keep Every Tax Invoice for Five Years

Keep copies of the tax invoices you issue and receive for five years. They are what your Business Activity Statement is built from, and what the ATO will ask for if it reviews your GST. A PDF in a folder per quarter, backed up somewhere other than your laptop, is enough.

Related Guides

For the full picture of Australian invoicing, read the Australian invoice template guide. Running a trade? Use the tradesman invoice template. New to invoicing on your own? Start with how to invoice as a sole trader in Australia. Used to adding a card fee? Read about the card surcharge ban that started on 1 October 2026.

Sources

Australian Taxation Office: tax invoices (what a tax invoice must include, the $82.50 and $1,000 thresholds, the 28 day rule). ATO ruling GSTR 2013/2 (adjustment notes). ATO ruling GSTR 2000/10 and the Recipient Created Tax Invoice determinations (RCTIs). ATO: registering for GST (the $75,000 and $150,000 thresholds).